Igloolik postpones Christmas games due to illness in community

Igloolik’s annual Christmas winter games will be postponed until January due to high levels of illness in the community.

The hamlet’s council made the decision Friday, after a survey of residents found most want to hold off to give the community time to recover.

While the games were put on hold, some socially distanced holiday festivities will continue as usual, said the hamlet’s chief administrative officer George Qaunaq.

“In the meantime, the recreation director and one of the council members are going to be organizing a little contest like making snow sculptures outside or decorating the house,” he said.

“There’s also going to be some games on the radio.”

Igloolik has been hit hard by the seasonal flu, which forced the elementary school to cancel its Christmas concert due to large numbers of students and staff being off sick, said Aggu MLA Joanna Quassa.

“There are over 300 students registered, and this week students attending have been around 50, not just students but teachers as well” have been away sick, she said.

The Nunavut Department of Health issued an advisory earlier this month that flu and other respiratory illnesses are widespread in the territory, including H1N1.

It advised community members to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 and to take precautionary measures to protect themselves and their loved ones from becoming ill, such as staying home when sick, washing hands frequently and maintaining a distance from others when out in public.